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Is W.W. Grainger (GWW) Outperforming Other Industrial Products Stocks This Year?

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The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has W.W. Grainger (GWW - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.

W.W. Grainger is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 227 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. W.W. Grainger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWW's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, GWW has gained about 14% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 2.2% on average. This means that W.W. Grainger is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Reliance Steel (RS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 6.6%.

The consensus estimate for Reliance Steel's current year EPS has increased 1.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, W.W. Grainger is a member of the Industrial Services industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #104 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.8% so far this year, meaning that GWW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Reliance Steel, however, belongs to the Metal Products - Distribution industry. Currently, this 4-stock industry is ranked #12. The industry has moved -1% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on W.W. Grainger and Reliance Steel as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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